Feds indict two for Tehama pot grow

SACRAMENTO &GT;&GT; A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against a pair of foreign nationals who are charged with growing 5,287 marijuana plants in Tehama County.

United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced Wednesday Eric Gilberto Perez, 23, of Guatemala and Daniel Gomez-Gonzalez, 32, of Mexico had been charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and manufacture of marijuana.

According to court documents on July 11 United States Forest Service agents and Tehama County Sheriff's deputies raided a marijuana cultivation site near the North Fork of Antelope Creek in the Lassen National Forest.

Both defendants were arrested after attempting to flee from the cultivation site.

The defendants are in custody.

If convicted, both Perez and Gomez-Gonzalez face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.